Chapter 3: A Visual Vocabulary for DrawingProblems of Drawing in Line.....................................................................................
One of the problems in using line alone to draw with is that there are very few lines in
nature. Even the outline of an object is not truly a line, since if the object were turned 1/4
on its axis toward us, what was the edge would now be the center.
If we think of that circle as a head and put a round nose on the profile, when it is turned
toward us it will still be a round nose.
But if we have a real human head with a real human nose on it, the complex shape of the
nose changes drastically as we look at it straight on. What was a line on the profile
becomes a non-line on the front view. The principles of perspective help to overcome this
dilemma. For instance the rule of overlap tells us what is in front and what is
behind, and helps us differentiate between the two and to draw them that way. The
human face (head) is a very complicated set of planes with very few areas that can
described by line alone. But if the areas that are in front (closest to us) are seen and
drawn as such, then at least it presents something to work with.
A face viewed straight on is in reality is a conglomerate of planes molded on top of each
other—very few lines. So for a line drawing we invent some symbols to indicate which
shape or plane is closest to us and its general shape.
In animation, the symbols we use for noses are kept simple. The fewer lines there are, the
less chance of jitters, and when lines have no anchor point, it is hard to keep them from
"drifting". For instance a nose in rendering might be drawn this way: